It's been a couple of years since my last reread of this series and my rating never diminishes. Fpr a book first published in 2011, the subject is one that is still wildly popular even today. Enemies-to-lovers, a human girl and an angel teaming up to help the other get what they need. This book is also a fast-paced whirlwind of a post-apocalyptic tale that truly doesn't let up the entire book. The author doesn't shy away from some truly shocking events that ratchet up the tension and a horror factor perfectly without being overwhelming. This is one of the few series I own because I adore it and have read it multiple times now. Highly recommend.


Knowing what I know now about this book, would I still read it if I went back in time?
Most definitely. I think this is the third or fourth reread already!


 See below for the four criteria I use to decide whether and when to read a book



CHARACTERS: Penryn's determination really stands out with her character. She's the leader of their family (mother and sister) because her mom is a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic. And wow does her mom shine as a character. I liken Penryn's mom to a character form of what the world is like now: lacking all understandable logic when every piece of normalcy has been stripped away. Even her adolescent sister, a paraplegic, is a stunning character who has very high morals she refuses to cross even at such a young age. And then, of course, we have Raffe, an angel that Penryn meets because the fight where he loses his wings happens right in front of her. He's very much out of his own element and it was Penryn choosing to save one of the enemy that keeps him alive. There's a reticence to him that is part-amusing and part-emotional. It's hard not to root for him even though they're enemies who choose to partner up to achieve their own goals. And Raffe can be a bit horrible at times, which lends to his character as well.



PLOT: Fast-paced, this book begins with a bang and doesn't let up for one wild moment. Penryn and her family are on the run in this post-apo world when she witnesses a fight between angels, the enemies who caused this apocalypse. In this fight, an angel's wings get cut off and he's left bleeding out on the ground. But Penryn's choice to help him, a pure instinct, ends with her sister being taken. She saves this angel because if he lives, he can tell her where they've taken her sister. And when the angel wakes, he chooses to help her because he needs help getting back to his own kind (and his wings sewed back on). It's an unusual pairing of two incredibly competent individuals. The pair (with mom flitting in and out of the picture) end up in some wild situations, tense and dangerous, in an attempt to fulfill their dual missions.




EMOTIONAL INTENSITY: There is no good/bad here. Sometimes I just want a low-investment entertainment read whereas other times a high-stakes 'I need a therapist to recover' is what I need.

3:5/medium. Although this is tense and high stakes, we're also in a YA. That tension that has the potential to be really dark, has been paired down beautifully to give a purely entertaining wild ride without any emotional trauma.



CATHARTIC FULFILLMENT: Is the emotional journey worth it? Do I finish this book feeling that I've crested the wave of the climactic moment and everything has been settled, leaving me settled and fulfilled? 

100%. Rare again for me. This book is definitely the first in a series, so there are a lot of hanging threads, but the original goals they set out for have a closure that's perfect for this book while setting up for the next beautifully.